The Padres are "swinging for baseball's fence and obliterating their sleepy reputation" with their recent trades for Cubs P Yu Darvish and Rays P Blake Snell, according to a front-page piece by Bryce Miller of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. The "relentlessness" of it all "truly staggers." As other clubs "tip-toe through a pandemic with silent turnstiles," the Padres "act like they're lacing up the gloves to audition for The Rumble in the Jungle." They are trying to win now, "with every ounce of organizational fiber." In addition to trades for the two pitchers, the Padres also agreed to terms with Korean SS Ha-seong Kim. The biggest takeaway is the Padres are "continuing to throw haymakers," becoming in the process "the talk of baseball." Additionally, the "long-suffering fan base" has waited years "for this wholesale change in organizational personality." When Padres General Partner Peter Seidler took over for Ron Fowler as Exec Chair this offseason, "some wondered what if anything would change." Miller: "We learned the aggressiveness still comes with a capital A" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 12/29).
WORLD SERIES CONTENDER? THE ATHLETIC's Dennis Lin writes the Padres "continue to demonstrate urgency when so many others in the sport are leaning toward the opposite, citing financial concerns, uncertainty about next season and so on." The Padres, at least on paper, "look like a World Series contender," as the "gap between them and the Dodgers appears to have narrowed considerably" (THEATHLETIC.com, 12/29). YAHOO SPORTS' Tim Brown wrote for the first time since Padres Exec VP & GM A.J. Preller was hired in '14, and "actually for the first time in a decade," the Padres "can see the Dodgers from where they are." Brown: "They aren't so sleepy. They are relevant" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/28). MLB Network's Dan Plesac said, "The Padres are a small-to-middle-market team that are like, 'We're going for it.'" Plesac: "We're hearing about the Cubs -- they're trying to trim payroll. We're hearing the Brewers -- they're trying to trim payroll. ... We talk so much about the pandemic, the economic climate, how many people are going to be in the seats, and when the gates are open how many people are going to be there. Everybody's afraid to take that next step. The Padres are like, 'You guys try to figure that out. We're jumping in'" (“MLB Tonight,” MLB Network, 12/28).
PAYROLL IS CLIMBING: In San Diego, Kevin Acee writes the additions of Darvish, Kim and Snell have "likely added almost" $30M to the Padres' '21 payroll, which "now is expected to top" $140M (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 12/29). Meanwhile, USA TODAY's Jace Evans notes the Cubs "will pick up a 'minor portion'" of the $59M that remains on the six-year, $126M deal Darvish signed in '18 (USA TODAY, 12/29).
OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY: In Chicago, Gordon Wittenmyer writes in trading Darvish, the Cubs "went from pledging to at least try to defend their 2020 National League Central title during a period of roster transition to tanking the 2021 season." The Cubs "became the first big-market team in major-league history to tank full seasons during their last rebuild, which started nine years ago." To do it again four years after the team's championship in '16 is an "indictment of the organization and a betrayal of a fan base that was charged top dollar during the last tanking process -- and gouged to its bottom dollar since the championship." The trade "means one of the wealthiest, biggest-revenue, jewel franchises in the majors is tanking again," and it is an "embarrassment." It is "not what a financially healthy, big-market club does, even during a pandemic." And one "wouldn't think it's what a franchise trying to get an expensive new TV network off the ground does." But by off-boarding most of the $60M owed to Darvish over the next three years, the Cubs' "billionaire owners secured more breathing room to pay on those business loans they've taken out to buy up and redevelop Wrigleyville in recent years" (NBCSPORTSCHICAGO.com, 12/29).
